Control Wizard PVP PVE build by Zahalu

I’ve been having success with this build so I am sharing it for others to browse along with a partial guide for rotations. My main focuses are on single target/area of effect damage andAction Point generation. I also wanted to be able to have a build which is viable in PvE as well as PvP.

Having already tried many of the more popular builds in The Library, I have settled with this one because I have found it to be the most successful for me. By applying feats and abilities which synergy together, I have been able to have better success in both the damage and control categories, with this build, than the others that I have tried. Libraries are places to go to in order to acquire written knowledge, so I pass this knowledge on to others to do with as would best suit them.

In order to achieve a high amount of damage, Thaumaturge Wizards rely on stacking mitigation/defense reduction abilities on targets. Along with 24%

Armor Penetration, these abilities can drop targets in to negative mitigation values. This negative mitigation state correlates in to a huge boost to damage output for the entire party against any target that has been affected.

This build uses the following mitigation/defense reduction abilities: Armor Penetration,Conduit of Ice, Ray of Enfeeblement, Elemental Empowerment, Plague Fire Enchantment, and a High Vizier’s set.

I am a Human.
My preferred base statistics are Intelligence and Wisdom. I have no need for Charisma because I choose to slot in Eye of the Storm as a class feature. Eye of the Storm procs consistently while using encounters. More crits means more Action Point gain and more Action Point gain means more Oppressive Force.

For the current end game, I recommend shooting for:
24% Armor Penetration
30-35% Critical Chance
At least 3,000 Power
At least 3,000 Recovery
This is the order by which I prioritize my own statistics.

I currently use a Plague Fire Enchantment on my weapon because it lowers targets defenses and applies damage over time debuffs which could potentially be helpful in proccing other abilities. After more testing, I have to submit to say that this is definitely the most critical weapon enchantment for this build because it synergies so beautifully for a Thaumaturge by applying additional mitigation reduction.

Features, encounters, and dailies relevant to this build and their interaction with the

Plague Fire debuff:Storm Spell – 1 stack on the primary target of the proc.Chilling Cloud – 1 stack per cast. 3 stacks per full cycle. 1 stack on each additional target hit by the third strike.Ray of Frost – 3 stacks per tick on the primary target.Storm Pillar – 1 stack on each target hit by initial cast. No stacks are added by the damage over time from a full cast.Chill Strike – 2 stacks on the primary target.Chill StrikeMastery – 3 stacks on the primary target and 1 stack on each additional target.Icy RaysMastery – 3 stacks on the primary target and 1 stack on each additional target, (requires double cast.)Icy Terrain – 1 stack per tick on each target.Ray of Enfeeblement – 1 stack on the primary target.Ray of EnfeeblementMastery – 1 stack on the primary target per cast.Repel – 1 stack on the primary target.RepelMastery – 1 stack on the primary target and 1 stack on each additional target.Shield Steal Time – 1 stack per tick on each target.Sudden Storm – 2 stacks on each target affected.Arcane Singularity – No stacks.Ice Knife – 3 stacks on the primary target.Oppressive Force – 1 stack per tick on each target affected.

I currently wear a High Vizier’s set. After more testing, I have to submit to say that this is also a keystone addition for a Thaumaturge because it removes defense from targets with a single cast of Steal Time, adding further to the stacking mitigation reduction provided by this build. This ability is worth losing over 1,200

Critical Strike for. Combined with other mitigation reduction, this set will boost damage significantly. The debuff applied by the High Vizier’s set stacks three times and lasts six seconds.

Encounters and dailies relevant to this build and their interaction with the High Vizier’s set debuff:Chill Strike – 2 stacks on the primary target.Chill StrikeMastery – 3 stacks on the primary target and 1 stack on each additional target.Icy RaysMastery – 1 stack on the primary target, (requires double cast.)Icy Terrain – 1 stack per cast on each target.Repel – 1 stack on the primary target.RepelMastery – 1 stack on the primary target and 1 stack on each additional target.Shield – 1 stack on each target affected.Steal Time – 1 stack per tick on each target.Arcane Singularity – No stacks.Ice Knife – 3 stacks on the primary target.Oppressive Force – 1 stack per tick on each target affected. (Can stack more than three times. Four stacks per full cast. Can also add stacks on top of stacks already present on a target. By maintaining the stacks added, can add stacks indefinitely.)

Features:Eye of the Storm – This feature procs often with this build and provides a ton of Action Point gain, and damage, via critical hits.Storm Spell – This feature adds a lot of damage and procs very often with this build.

At Wills:Chilling Cloud – Adds a damage buff via Frozen Power Transfer, and does great area of effect damage on its’ own. I use this as a filler during my rotations of encounters.Storm Pillar – Adds a damage buff via Destructive Wizardry. Should not be used as a filler, but only to proc Destructive Wizardry before a rotation of encounters.

Dailies:Oppressive Force – This is a main source of damage for this build. Gains a major amount of synergy via feats.Arcane Singularity – Used in some situations, but is secondary to Oppressive Force.Ice Knife – Only used for single target damage and in PvP.

I was taking too much damage by using the same encounters for soloing as I was for grouping so I swapped them for this set up. There’s no real preferred rotation, honestly, aside from getting the mobs down and taking as little damage as possible. Chill StrikeMastery will benefit from area of effect damage boosting feats. Many times I still use my group slotting for solo play.

Group play slotting with area of effect focus:Conduit of IceMastery, Steal Time, Icy Terrain, Sudden Storm

In a group setting I have a bit more time to set up some sort of rotation. I try to hit as many targets as I can and only use Storm Pillar when I know that it will strike more than one target. Generally, I play it by… ear. This set up is still viable for solo play.

As for all single target situations, swap Arcane Singularity or Oppressive Force (as would fit your situation,) for Ice Knife. Alternate Repel and Chill Strike [o guarantee that stacks of High Vizier’s remain on the target.

A very simple set up for single target damage. In PvP I recommend swapping out Storm Pillar for Ray of Frost and Arcane Singularity for Ice Knife. This set up can also be used to ensure maximum up-time of mitigation debuffs by using proper timing between casts of Chill Strike and a double cast of Icy Rays. This requires a good amount of Recovery, though.

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